Journal of Al-qadisiya in arts and educational sciense

Abstract

The current research endeavors to study the stylistic conduct of compound
adjectives in Shakespeare's Macbeth on the two levels: grammar and lexis. It
attempts to recognize adjective as a literary term mutually with determining its
form and function. Having got an idea about its form and function in syntax, the
compound adjective is highlighted in this study according to its form, frequency
and meaning in the play. All compound adjectives have been calculated in the
play in terms of their existence in the five acts. Consequently, the statistical
analysis shows that they are diverse in their form and frequency in the entire
play. The study indicates that there is a profound relationship between
compound adjectives and the thematic structure of the play. The utilization of
compound adjectives intensifies Shakespeare's immense skill to manipulate
them in a way that matches the different situations and characters of the play. In
addition, they are used neatly and intricately to convey several images such as:
t i m e, sickness, death, evil, blood and nature.